Bing Places for Business is Microsoft's free tool for claiming and editing your practice's listing on Bing and Bing Maps. If your practice already has a verified Google Business Profile, setup takes minutes: import it, and Bing verifies it for you. This guide walks through import, verification, practitioner naming and keeping the two listings in sync.
Search demand reflects how many businesses are doing this: "bing places" gets about 5,400 searches a month and "bing places for business" 4,400 (CPC $52.95) (Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026). In Canada, it's 720 and 590 (Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, Canada, 12-month average to Sep 2026).
Why a practice should claim Bing Places
Microsoft calls Bing Places "a free Bing service" that lets businesses claim existing listings or add new ones and control the information customers see (Bing Places help (opens in a new tab)). Three reasons it's worth an afternoon:
- Your listing probably exists already. Bing says it "pulls business information from Bing Places for Business and multiple third-party data sources, then merges them into your listing." Unclaimed, it shows whatever those sources say.
- Verification protects it. Bing says verifying "protects it from unauthorized changes."
- Stale data loses priority. Bing says other sources may take priority if Bing Places data "hasn't been updated for more than 6 months."
It's one item on the short list in our online listings guide.
Import from Google Business Profile or start fresh
Option A: import from Google (fastest)
- Sign in to Bing Places (bing.com/forbusiness) with a Microsoft account or another supported sign-in. Bing says any listings you claim "will be associated with the email credentials you've used to sign in," so use a practice-owned account, not a personal one.
- Select Import from your Google Business Profile.
- Sign in to the Google account that manages your profile.
- Import the detected listings.
- Choose how often to sync: weekly, biweekly or monthly.
Bing says that if your business "is already verified in Google Business Profile, Bing automatically verifies the imported listing," which then enters publishing, typically 7 to 12 days. Services you list on Google come across automatically.
Option B: claim or add a listing directly
Use this if you don't have a Google profile yet (set one up first with Google listing setup) or prefer to manage Bing separately.
- Search Bing Maps for your practice's name and full address.
- If it's there, select the ellipsis next to the listing name, choose Manage business, and sign in.
- If it isn't, add a new listing with name, address, phone and category.
- Request verification (next section). Bing says a listing that already exists must be claimed and verified "before any updates can be published."
Verification options
Bing sends a PIN to prove you represent the business. It says you can receive one "via phone, mail, email, or text," and that "some options won't be available to all customers."
| Method | How it works, per Bing | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Phone call | Immediate call with a 6-digit PIN | Offered only if the existing listing already has the business phone and it hasn't been edited |
| Text | PIN by text message | Listed among the options after you claim an existing listing |
| PIN to a business email address | Public addresses such as @Gmail or @Yahoo aren't supported | |
| Postcard | PIN mailed to the business address | Usually 5 to 6 business days in the US, up to 12 |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Automatic if your website is already verified there and the listing uses the same site | May still need extra verification |
After verification, Bing says it "usually takes 7-12 calendar days" to publish. Editing a listing while it's processing resets the publish date, so make your changes in one pass.
Categories, hours and practitioner details
Name. Bing asks for the name "your customers know and recognize," without locations or descriptors like "best," and rejects keyword stuffing in names. Names are capped at 90 characters.
Practitioner vs practice. Bing lets you mark a listing as a business location or a "business professional" (that choice isn't published). For naming, follow Google's rules so both listings match. Google says a practitioner's profile title "should include only the name of the practitioner," and that a solo practitioner at a branded practice can share one profile named "[brand/company]: [practitioner name]" (Google guidelines (opens in a new tab)).
Categories. Up to 10: one primary plus up to nine secondary. Bing says the primary "should be the one that most accurately reflects your core business offering."
Address and phone. Include the suite number. Bing says you can't use a mailing address you don't operate from, and asks for "a working number where customers can reach you," not a partner's number. Phone systems can add an extension.
Hours. Add regular hours, including split hours, and special hours for holidays.
Photos. Exterior, interior and services. Bing says not to use private photos; for a practice, that means no patients in any image.
Illustrative example: a fictional practice's master record, copied into Bing exactly as it appears on Google.
- Name: Riverside Family Dental
- Practitioner listing: Dr. Maya Chen
- Address: 210 Elm Street, Suite 4, Springfield
- Phone: main line only, no tracking number
- Primary category: Dentist; secondary: Pediatric dentist, Cosmetic dentist
- Website: the homepage, with no campaign tags
Keeping Bing and Google in sync
Once imported, Google becomes the place you edit. Bing says direct editing "isn't currently available" for listings linked to a Google Business Profile: "Update the listing in Google, and then sync it with Bing Places."
Know the limits Bing lists:
- updates from Google "may sync to Bing, though timing can vary";
- some fields "may not sync exactly," including categories and Google UTM tags;
- syncing "may create duplicate listings, especially if a listing already exists on Bing."
To stop syncing, open the menu, choose Google Business Profile sync and clear the option. Bing says this "does not unlink" the profile; it only stops future syncs.
If the practice moves: Bing has no "moved" status. It asks you to create a new listing at the new address and mark the old one closed. Closed listings fade and are removed after about six months.
Common mistakes
- Claiming with a staff member's personal account, then losing access when they leave.
- Editing a pending listing repeatedly, which keeps pushing back the publish date.
- Leaving duplicates in place after an import instead of reporting them.
- Changing the old listing to a new address rather than closing it and creating a new one.
- Using a different practice name on Bing than on Google.
Where Bing listing data shows up
Bing's help describes where your data appears: in Bing search results and on Bing Maps, once published. It says local ranking is "based on relevance, distance, and popularity," and that popularity draws on web signals such as reviews and ratings "on sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor." If you haven't claimed your Yelp page, see Yelp for doctors.
On Microsoft Copilot, we can only report what Microsoft says. Its transparency note states that "for certain conversations where users seek information, Copilot is grounded in web search results" (Microsoft (opens in a new tab)). Neither that note nor Bing's help connects Bing Places to Copilot directly, so we make no claim about it.
What we can measure is narrower. Medfy's AI visibility tracking asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews the questions patients ask each week, and shows whether they name your practice. Medfy doesn't manage Bing listings. For the broader picture, read AI visibility for practices.
Next on the list is Apple Maps: see Apple Business Connect. To check how your Google listing scores today, run a free marketing audit.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bing Places free for medical practices?
Yes. Microsoft's help pages describe Bing Places for Business as a free Bing service for claiming existing listings or adding new ones, and you sign in with a free Microsoft account or another supported account. Advertising through Microsoft is separate and optional. Verification costs nothing, though publishing usually takes 7 to 12 days after a listing is verified.
Can I import my Google Business Profile into Bing Places?
Yes. In Bing Places, choose to import from your Google Business Profile, sign in to Google and import the detected listings. Bing says listings already verified on Google are verified automatically, then published in about 7 to 12 days. After that, make changes in Google and let them sync, because Bing doesn't allow direct edits to Google-linked listings.
Does Bing Places affect Microsoft Copilot answers?
Microsoft doesn't say. Its Copilot transparency note says Copilot grounds some answers in web search results, and Bing's help says listing data merges Bing Places with third-party sources, but neither page connects Bing Places to Copilot directly. Keeping your Bing listing accurate is still worthwhile, because it's what Bing shows when patients search there.